5 Unity in the Stoic Sense

Abstract

Although it is impossible to establish with utmost certainty what were the philosophical sources of the teaching of any of the Fathers, in the case of Tertullian and Ambrose it is commonly accepted that they drew from the Stoic current. It is very probable that despite its materialism Stoicism exerted a much greater impact on the thoughts of the first Christian than it is commonly believed. It could have been direct or indirect impact through Neoplatonism, which, after all, was derived from the combination of Platonism and Stoicism. Both those philosophical systems accepted that the entire nature constitutes oneness because it was formed from a single matter (Stoicism) or derives from the One (Neoplatonism). The conviction of the natural, virtually physical unity of the entire humankind and even the entire universe is particularly strongly voiced by Tertullian and Ambrose. It may not be excluded that their conviction did not come from their fascination with philosophy but from Irenaeus and his concept of plasmatio Adae, and most probably it had not one but several sources. The title of this chapter is not meant to exclude other possibilities: it should rather to lead to thinking about the natural physical unity which in the first place is associated with the Stoic thought.